Dubai Municipality gears up for Sunday’s Car Free Day

By

Wam

PublishedThursday, February 02, 2017

Dubai Municipality is all geared up for the eighth edition of the "Car Free Day," which will be held on 5th February and will see wide-ranging activities.

Eng. Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director-General of Dubai Municipality, said that the initiative would witness the participation of several government, semi-government, and private agencies besides the presence of a number of dignitaries, including heads of government departments across the emirate.

"Sectors such as education, real estate, retail, hotels and banks as well as people with special needs will also participate," he added. The municipality has always been keen to integrate this important category in various initiatives and events, said Lootah.

He also stressed the constant efforts of Dubai Municipality to raise the city’s profile globally and make it one of the eco-friendly cities by finding sustainable and effective solutions to meet various environmental challenges such as air pollution and rise in the carbon footprint, resulting from vehicle emissions.

"Each vehicle, with a full fuel tank of 15 gallons, emits nearly 140 kg of carbon dioxide into the air. Therefore, the total emissions annually would be about four tonnes and these emissions result in global warming. The upcoming campaign will contribute to achieving the emirate’s objectives in preserving air quality and reducing carbon footprint, in line with the UAE National Agenda 2021," Lootah said.

According to him, the initiative will effectively contribute towards promoting the use of public transport instead of using personal vehicles to go to workplaces.

"Car Free Day is the first initiative of its kind and is a confirmation of the commitment of the city of Dubai regarding international environmental agreements related to climate change that contribute to the reduction of emissions of gases that cause global warming," he said.

"This initiative reflects the care of the government and the community to have the best practices aimed at finding sustainable solutions to environmental issues witnessed by the emirate in general and the increase in carbon footprint caused by the road transport sector in particular," he added.